The American Osteopathic Association has committed $2 million this fiscal year to its brand awareness campaign, designed to increase understanding of the osteopathic medical profession. As part of that commitment, AOA has partnered with television personality and social media influencer Mikhail “Doctor Mike” Varshavski, DO, to promote the osteopathic perspective to a broad consumer audience.
“As an osteopathic physician, I know that when a patient comes in with a physical complaint, we must also consider their mental health as well to get an ideal outcome,” Dr. Mike tell viewers in his inaugural video.
Video to run on high-profile health sites
In the video, the first in a series, Doctor Mike—the most-followed doctor on social media, with 8 million followers and counting—directs viewers to search for a physician using the AOA’s “Find Your DO” tool. The tool allows patients to search for DOs who are AOA members by specialty, location and name. As part of the AOA’s consumer brand campaign, advertisements featuring this video or a shorter version will run on a variety of sites in the coming weeks, including WebMD, CNN Health, Babycenter, Mens Health and Parents.
Brand campaign update
Since its launch in 2015, the AOA’s consumer brand campaign has driven over 1 million “Find Your DO” searches and generated more than 1 billion impressions.
Two more Doctor Mike videos are forthcoming in January. They will also run on high-profile health sites and be promoted on YouTube. Via these efforts and others, such as paid search and native advertising, the consumer brand campaign for fiscal year 2020 is expected to draw more than 88 million impressions.